Amarillo High falls to Lubbock Monterey in 3-5A showdown 

In what has become a must-see showdown over the past three years and one of the top rivalries in the state, Lubbock Monterey was able to defend its home court handing Amarillo High its first District 3-5A loss with a thrilling 46-44 win at a packed Plainsman Gym on Friday night.

The Lady Plainsman (19-3) pull into a three-way tie atop the district standings with AHS and Tascosa improving to 4-1 in the league. The Lady Sandies (17-3) suffer their first league loss falling to 6-1.

In a first of two district meetings that lived up to the billing, AHS had control at the half up 22-15. Monterey chipped away in the third quarter cutting the deficit 34-32 heading into the final frame.

The Lady Sandies led 41-37 with 5:17 to play until Monterey took the momentum going on an 8-0run over 1:37 highlighted by the prolific Aliyah Chavez who had a putback and transition bucket giving the Lady Plainsman the edge 43-41 with four minutes left.

Moments later, and Monterey clinging to a 46-44 lead, the Lady Sandies had the ball with  25 seconds to go. AHS tried to free up standout guard Bella Edwards but the Monterey defense took her away leaving Ca’Nia Mitchell with a desperation 3-point attempt that didn’t fall, and the Lady Plainsman survived.

Chavez, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country, led all scorers with 19. Teammate Ari Johnson added eight. Edwards finished with a team-high 18 points for the Lady Sandies with Mitchell scoring 11.

Texline dismantles Wildorado 

The Texline Lady Tornadoes made an early district statement getting a lopsided 52-12 road victory at Wildorado to close out play before the Christmas break Friday night.

Texline heads to the break at 10-5 overall and is in control of District 3-1A at 4-0.

The Lady Tornadoes put this game away early with tenacious defense and hot shooting. Texline opened the game on a 13-4 to open the first quarter and never looked back.

The Lady Tornadoes carried that momentum outscoring the Lady Mustangs 15-0 in the second for a 28-4 halftime advantage.

Rissa Johnson paced Texline with 11 points followed by Prezlee Potter’s 10. Alex Montes and Jada Clay each chipped in eight points.

Friday’s top performers 

• It was a hot shooting night for Happy’s Angel Reyes who buried eight 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 28 points as the Cowgirls handled Hart 72-32. Teammate Abby McCreary had a superb night of her own with 22.
• Tascosa bounced back from a loss to Amarillo High on Tuesday behind a strong effort from Tryssa Dowd’s game-high 27 points to lead the Lady Rebels to a 72-59 home victory against Lubbock-Cooper.
• Panhandle sharp-shooter Avery Cathey went for 28 points during the Ettes 77-10 lopsided win over Wheeler.
• West Plains stayed hot in the district race downing Perryton 52-34 at home. Standout guard Dane’ja Agu-White led the Lady Wolves with 20 points.
• Morgan Earle continued her outstanding play by pouring in 19 points with eight of those coming in the fourth quarter during the Lynxettes key 41-31 win against Hansford County rival Gruver.
• Jaikylie Baker tallied a game-best 23 points to help Kress down Springlake-Earth 59-16. Thanks to her big night, Baker surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career.
• Wellington cruised to a 62-15 win against Memphis with Kambrie Fisher going for a team-high 12 points.

Friday’s district scores 

District 3-5A 

Lubbock Monterey 46, Amarillo High 44
Lubbock Coronado 53, Caprock 36
Tascosa 72, Lubbock-Cooper 59
Lubbock High 49, Palo Duro 36

District 4-4A 

Canyon 58, Randall 40
Borger 53, Dumas 34
West Plains 52, Perryton 24
Hereford 49, Pampa 33

District 2-3A 

Idalou 63, Lubbock Roosevelt 32
Slaton 47, Friona 26
Dimmitt 54, Muleshoe 41
Shallowater 56, Littlefield 54

District 1-2A

Spearman 41, Gruver 31
Stratford 43, Vega 35
Sunray 37, West Texas High 35

District 2-2A  

Panhandle 77, Wheeler 10
Wellington 62, Memphis 15
Clarendon 71, Quanah 30

District 2-1A

Claude 50, Groom 20
Shamrock 2, Hedley 0, (forfeit)
White Deer 58, Lefors 17

District 3-1A

Texline 52, Wildorado 12
Pringle-Morse 2, Channing 0, (forfeit)
Hartley 52, Adrian 27

District 4-1A

Happy 72, Hart 32
Kress 59, Springlake-Earth 16
Silverton 32, Lazbuddie 28